JOHNSON – A few short but hot takes on traffic and politics

A NEW FEATURE for this column, a short list on a few annoying / niggly things that don’t warrant their own column, but still at the level of … A Hot Take.

• Downtown Traffic Detour: Anyone who has tried to get through the corner of 2^nd and Seymour lately, will understand this one – right now there is one traffic person there with a stop sign to assist large trucks and busses to turn right from 2^nd to Seymour west bound. The traffic light is still running at the usual short timed linked multilight Seymour interval, which has proven to be completely inappropriate for this temporary two-way construction detour need.

Now … I know that the best answer is likely outside of the City purview as well as the contractor doing the work, and the sub hired for traffic control … but come on … the primary focus should be on peak time traffic flow.  The all-day backup here and the rush hour standstill, is simply unnecessary.

The key here, and what should be remembered as the construction moves up Lansdown … traffic flow actually is a thing people care about.  Do better.

• While we are in the area: We occasionally see signs and placards in support of our mayor being waved on the corner of 1^st and Seymour, taking advantage of the visibility the traffic snarl creates.

Simple question … Why?  Beyond the right of expression … what’s the point?

Sure … they have all the rights in the world to peacefully protest, but 95 per cent of people driving by are just going about their day, municipal political scuffles just aren’t a thing. As a point of safety, we don’t need people eyerolling when they are supposed to be watching the bumper ahead.

Believe it or not, most people just don’t care and the proof is clear.  Just look at actual percentage of municipal votes cast, visa vis registered voter numbers.

• As we are still downtown: now we are deep into spring, has anyone been counting the bike riders using the new bike lane on 6^th? As someone who regularly passes this area throughout the day, I don’t see a lot, in fact … almost none.

At home here I have a person who has a full view of this bike lane outside their office window all day … they report it is actually a surprise to see anyone on it at all … ever.
Nice plan previous City Council … dollars well spent.

• Oh btw: For those who don’t know … you may not realize how much some people use the Clapperton street bypass to get around the lower Tranquille area. Now its closed for infrastructure work.
  God speed to those workers, get ‘er dun.
• The Home Depot traffic light: After years of accident ridden left turn moments where the Home Depot parking lot feeds onto Hillside Drive … the City a while back put in a traffic light to stop Hillside Drive traffic.

“YaY” … we all said, “good idea”.  Unfortunately … the City said “Hold My Beer” and made it a pedestrian controlled light only, not a vehicle controlled light.

Other than a few peds crossing from Walmart to the bus stop, there seems to be a complete lack of any pedestrian traffic at this light, at all … ever.  I am pretty sure this obvious pedestrian safety issue was why the light was put in.
The City just didn’t see the bigger picture and expand the idea.

The other day an elderly lady was driving out of Home Depot when Hillside traffic was busy.  I watched her get out of the driver door of her car at the light, and go push the button so she could safely turn left.

Enough said.

• Westsyde Road Aftermath: Here we are a year since the million-dollar Westsyde Road sidewalk job between 8^th Street and Westmount was completed, with an extra wide brick/blacktop sidewalk … and I have personally seen four people walk on it since that time, besides people waiting for the bus.

Speaking of which, even more stunning is that the new bus stops don’t have dedicated turn outs, which means busses stopping at the bus stops there, bring right lane Westsyde Road traffic to a dead stop at rush hour, just as they always have.

As the dirt bluff was cut back substantially, lots of room was created to put bus stops there — out of traffic flow … but instead of that, we got a triple wide sidewalk no one uses and traffic flow was not improved at all.

How is it possible that the City thought that people would want to walk or bike ride between Westmount Drive … where there is nothing but a few residential blocks … to the 8^th Street overpass where there is nothing at all?

What people have done for decades in this area, is walk south from Westsyde or Westmount along the river, take the trail under the train and Halston and walk the river trail south along Shubert or west from there by the school to Tim Hortons and 8^th.

Why build a million dollar sidewalk up Westsyde Road, up a hill to nowhere, if you don’t need to?

Cue the same City council as above.

Finally, to Mr. Frank Caputo.  You appear to be the spearhead, driving opposition efforts to release the identities of MPs or senators involved in alleged foreign collusion, as reported by the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians.

Briefly, ya … obviously this is an important national security issue and it needs to be dealt with.  In the same breath, in due course at the conclusion of a full RCMP investigation, whatever is deemed appropriate to be made public will happen.  That is the moment for opposition noise to start up.

Today Mr. Caputo, you seem to be completely and utterly unaware of actual federal legislation called the Freedom of Information / Protection of Privacy Act, as well as a little thing called the Security of Information Act, and are also blissfully and incomprehensibly in the dark regarding not just Parliamentary but actual legal processes and procedures regarding how to deal with a report as such, prior to a full RCMP investigation.

If Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc, followed the advice or pressure of our local MP who was recently promoted to the role of associate critic for justice and attorney general, and also is the opposition Conservative lead on public safety issues … and Mr. LeBlanc released the names within this report, the government would very likely be open to multiple lawsuits … even if the person or people named, were found guilty of the security breach.

Even the RCMP investigator involved has commented that, at this early stage, releasing the names could in fact be detrimental to the case and in itself it might literally be illegal to release information like this before ensuring the legality of the charge.

Mr. Caputo, what you’re doing on day two of the release of the report, is trying to demand what you should already know … can not happen.  An election 18 months from now as reason for this protest, is just odd … as obviously that’s lots of time to deal with any legal issues regarding any MPs or Senators involved.

What you are actually asking for here is to publicly name and judge a person who has the right of innocence until proven guilty in a court of law.  Is this what the Conservative Party is now advocating for?

Just drop the concept of the rule of law if it means political points?

What it appears you are doing, is more about you than the case at hand.

You appear to be trying very hard to be noticed by the leadership of your party … playing the same card the illustrious Conservative pit bull boss Pierre Poilievre himself used, to get where he is today.

Mr. Caputo, you are sitting pretty in a stalwart Conservative riding you were helicoptered into.  You are clearly making it known you are available and could be potentially useful for a cabinet spot in a future Conservative government.

Is that where we are today?

Make brownie points and apply for a larger Cabinet pension by flailing in the muck of an issue like this, by demanding what you know full well can’t be done?

Just sit down Frank … you’re embarrassing us.

There’s a few Hot Takes … I’m out.

David Johnson is a Kamloops resident, community volunteer and self described maven of all things Canadian.